The new Fortnite Getaway mode is part battle royale, part heist mission

The latest new game mode coming to Fortnite offers a whole new way to secure yourself a Victory Royale. The Getaway, which was shown off at PAX West over the weekend, is a getaway mode, where winners are determined not by their ability to be the last players standing, but by being the first to escape the island.

To give a quick rundown, High Stakes is played in squads. At the start of the match, four safes will spawn, scattered around the map. If you can get to a safe (and defend your teammate while they open it) you’ll be rewarded with a llama-shaped jewel. Whoever picks it up will have it fill a slot in their inventory, and will wear it as a backpack.

Once you’ve got a jewel, you’ll need to head for a van, each of which will act like some sort of reverse Battle Bus, flying players away from the island. Get a jewel and make it to a van, and you’ll secure yourself a Victory Royale.

That means that, potentially, four whole teams can secure themselves a win, although, as you’ll see from the video below, there could only be three vans to escape from. I’m currently not entirely sure whether that’s the case, but I like the idea of a devious set of Epic developers cruelly denying one squad of players their victory by not putting enough escape routes into the mode.

Either way, I also enjoy the idea of a new way to win. It’s reminiscent of the new kid on the battle royale block, Fear the Wolves, which offers two potential victory conditions – you can be the last person standing, or you can attempt escape via a very conspicuous helicopter.

The Getaway doesn’t have a set release date yet, but expect to see it arrive in the next week or two. To make the wait even more unbearable, you should know that you’re also waiting for a new item – The Grappler. That’s right, Fortnite’s getting its very own grappling hook, which is good news for the nifty player with a shotgun, and probably much less good news for me.